Page 26 of Where There's Smoke

Husband and wife? Nuh-uh.

Under normal circumstances, it was none of my business, but these weren’t normal circumstances. It was just a question of figuring out if I was imagining things, reading too much into their interactions, or if there really was something to be concerned about. Personal troubles and marital issues were par for the course with politicians, but voters didn’t respond to them well. Especially not when they’d been led to believe they were supporting a golden couple like Jesse and Simone.

Please let me be wrong, Jesse.

If you want to win this, please let me be wrong…

Chapter 6

Jesse

Of all thethings I dealt with on this campaign, the debates unnerved me the most. On the way to the venue, I couldn’t sit still in the back of the limo. I couldn’t remember the last time I was this twitchy, and it only got worse the more I thought about how this evening would go.

“You all right?” Anthony asked.

Looking out the window, I nodded. “I’ll be fine.” Having him here didn’t help at all. He either distracted me to the point I nearly forgot to breathe, or just by being here as my campaign manager, he created an undeniable pressure to get it right tonight. This could make or break my campaign, but every time my mind wandered down the “what if I blow this?” path, it was Anthony’s disapproval—not the voters’, not my uncle’s—that had me extra sick to my stomach. Fuck if I knew why, but since when did anything in my head make sense?

“Hey.” Ranya prodded my knee with her planner. “Space cadet.”

“Hmm?”

“You sure you’re okay?”

“I’m fine.” I forced a smile. “Just nerves.”

“Uh-huh.” Her eyes darted toward Anthony, and she smirked.

I glared at her, and the smirk turned into a full-on snicker. Anthony threw us a puzzled look, butthank Godhe didn’t seem to read between the lines. That would be just what I needed: my damned campaign manager knowing he was as distracting as the debates, if not more so. And wouldn’t I have some ’splaining to do about my marriage…

The limo pulled off the freeway, and through the tinted windows, the venue came into view. I gulped.

I can do this. I know I can. It’s not—

Out of the blue, Ranya said, “You ever wonder what it would be like if the zombie apocalypse happened during an election year?”

The look on Anthony’s face. Holy shit.

I struggled to keep from laughing. “Hadn’t thought about it. Why?”

“Well, I mean, let’s say a zombie showed up tonight.” She paused. “Say…Anthony.”

Anthony’s eyebrows shot up. He may as well have hadWTF?etched across his forehead at this point, and I couldn’t help laughing this time.

“Go on,” I said, chuckling.

She ran a hand through her long hair, her bracelets jingling with the quick motion. “So Anthony goes into the debates, and he bites someone. Next thing you know, there’s a bunch of groaning, mumbling, blank-eyed zombies shuffling around the place.” Her bracelets clanged again as she gestured at the venue. “But really, would anyone even notice?”

I snickered. “This is a Democratic debate, dear. I think you’ve got a GOP convention on the brain.”

“Well, true.” She shrugged. “I suppose there’s at least some chance of someone catching on before it spreads too far here.” She looked at Anthony, and as only Ranya could do, completely deadpanned, “So maybe you should save the biting for a GOP event, no?”

He eyed her. “I’ll…keep that in mind. Thanks.”

“Anytime.” She gave him a sharp, jingling salute.

He shook his head and looked out the window, but not before the faintest hint of amusement turned up the corner of his mouth.

The limo driver wove through traffic and barriers, inching us closer to the venue, and my stomach tightened. The base of my spine prickled with nerves, and my stomach churned and roiled as a million worries crowded my mind.

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